WillGM: -------------------- Game Start ---------------------- WillGM: Okay. So shall we start with BA taking Nicole back to his place around 7 that evening? BA: Roit Nicole: okee. Nicole: I assume BA's got a car? WillGM: Yeah. BA assembles the necessary parts for the wire. One of Rumblestrip's spare batteries, 2 audio pick-ups and a mini-cam Nicole watches BA. Nicole: "Remember, record only. No broadcasting." WillGM: I idly recall that a panic button was also mentioned, though I forget the exact context. Nicole: Right. BA: "Yeah. Yeah. I got that the last time." *grabs a micro-recorder he's monkeyed with for the audio* "I'll need a few minutes alone with your wheelchair. There are beers in the fridge." Nicole: "Right. You got another chair for me to sit in?" Nicole: "I can't just get up and walk to another one." BA: "Thought you could use the couch until I got done." Nicole: "That works." WillGM: BA: It looks like you've successfully assembled something about the size of a cassette tape, with two small mikes and a mini-cam. Nicole rolls herself over in that direction, and exchanges seats. She then swipes a textbook from the backpack behind it. "I'll do my reading." WillGM: kats, how does Nicole's wheelchair look? BA: "Where do you want the panic button? As a thumb-switch or a punch button on one of the arms?" Nicole: Will: Pretty much standard, except it doesn't have armrests. Nicole: "Here's a thought." Nicole: "Can we pin it to clothing, as part of a costume maybe? BA: "Don't see why not. Sew it into a pocket?" Nicole: "That'll work." Nicole: "I need to figure out a costume too, whee." BA makes off to the garage with Nicole's wheelchair and starts doing things she probably would prefer not to see done to it. WillGM: Where you putting the system? BA: Putting one audio-mic in each arm and the mini-cam will be sewn as a button onto Nicole's costume Nicole: No arms, I just said that. BA: 'k Then in the handles on the back BA: Or rather, in the handles BA: The recorder itself will be attached under the chair's seat WillGM: This appears to be doable. WillGM: Sounds from the garage: *wheeeeeee* *clank clank* *bzzzzzzz* *hissssss* BA: *from the garage* "Hey, Nicole! You wanna try to smuggle in Rumblestrip while we're at it?" WillGM: Rumblestrip is about 6 inches high, same wide, and 10 long. BA: "We could disguise him as your 'familiar'. He'd look kawaii in a kitty suit." Nicole yells back. "I'm not sure that's such a bright idea." BA: "Thanks! I knew that was the right idea!" Nicole groans. BA is eventually finished with the chair WillGM: Looks good as new. (And better than after the swimming-pool incident.) Nicole looks up from her textbook. "No motors, right?" BA: "Only in the recorder." Nicole: "Okay. And no transmitters, except the one that would engage if i hit the panic button?" BA: "Could I talk you into dropping a few bugs around the place once you're in there? I have a few I can hide in pens and other smaller items." Nicole: "I'll take them. We'll see if I can drop them." BA: "Great. As for the panic button I'll have to see how to work that into your costume." WillGM GMly notes that BA is approaching the reasonable limit of equipment he can bear on this month's salary. BA: *nod* Nicole nods. BA: I figure 3 bugs (short range transmitters, 5000 feet only), as well as the panic button, mini-cam, mikes, and recorder Nicole: "Yeah, which we still need to come up with an idea. And not Fearless's Urban Primitive." BA: ³How about going as an Iron Maiden?² BA: "Open or closed lid would be your choice." Nicole: "This fits the theme how?" BA: "It's dark ritual stuff, iron maidens were great for pain." Nicole: "Why don't we just stick with something simple, like a cat or a witch or something?" BA: "How about a she-devil? Then you'd be Hell on Wheels." ;) Nicole: "Oh, Rath and Zeke and company would be thrilled, wouldn't they?" Nicole: "Tempting, though, very tempting." BA: "Yep. Gotta love the irony." Nicole: "On the other hand, if I run into Xav or something again, I don't know if this would be a good idea." BA: "How about we give the mikes a quick test?" Nicole: "Sure." BA moves 30 feet away from Nicole's wheelchair. "Turn on the mikes. Button's on the side of the seat." WillGM: (I'm throwing dice in another channel, in case people are wondering.) Nicole fiddles for the button, and finds it. WillGM: The system turns on unobtrusively. Nicole: "one, two, four, eight, sixteen, thirtytwo, sixtyfour, one twentyeight..." BA speaks in normal conversational tones. "This is a test. This is only a test. Had this not been a test, your wheelchair would now be a crater in my floor." Nicole: "It's a good thing it's not." BA: "Let's find out. Turn it off by pressing the button again." Nicole flicks the button. BA goes over and pulls out the cassette. WillGM: Nicole's wheelchair EXPLODES MESSILY! Just kidding. BA: :) Nicole: Haw haw. :P ;) WillGM: BA: the minicassette plays clearly. BA pops the cassette into a different player and checks to see if it picked up BA: How good's the sound quality from 30 feet away? WillGM: You're audible. WillGM: (Translatably, that is.) BA: 'k BA: "And that looks like we're wired for sound." BA gets a fresh tape Nicole: "Alright..." Nicole takes a deep breath. BA: "The tapes are only good for 90 minutes, and since you won't be able to change them from where you're sitting, one's all we'll get." Nicole: "So, in other words, don't turn them on until I'm sure we're starting?" BA: "Zacly." Nicole: "Okay, that's doable." BA: "The video I'm not worried about. If you take my laptop with you, I can feed the cam directly to it." Nicole: "Alright. The backpack is always on there, we can stick it in there." BA: "Sounds good." Nicole: "Okay." BA: "All we need is your costume and we can hook up the camera." Nicole sings quietly o/~ oh gaze of love, so melt my pride o/~ "Eh? Yeah. As I said, we need to cook something up for that. We've got a couple days, no?" BA: "Yeah, but I'll want to get it sewn in and tested." Nicole: "Yeah. That's what I need to figure out." BA: "Do it fast, then. We don't want any SNAFUs with this." Nicole: "Yeah. I'll get it figured out tonight." BA: "Good. Get right over here as soon as possible." Nicole: "Aye, aye, Captain!" BA starts putting the equipment away until we're ready for the full package setup WillGM: o/~ I just rolled an 18 / I'm not saying what it's for / Its effects will soon be seen / I'm not saying any more o/~ Nicole OOCly eyebrowraises. BA: (_( Nicole nods to BA. "Alright. What's the best bus back to the University from here?" BA: "Forget the bus. I can drive you over." Nicole: "Okay." BA gives Nicole a lift back to the campus WillGM: Let us, then, proceed to a later time. BA: Roit Nicole nods. WillGM: BA: You're in front of the workbench. It's daytime; and those harnesses need to be finished soon. *** Mode change "+ooo BA Edward WillGM" on #gurps by Nicole *** Dicesuke (dice@155.92.103.53) has joined channel #gurps *** Wizard (Wizard@h0050da10c3db.ne.client2.attbi.com) has joined channel #gurps BA: Baa Wiz Dicesuke: ( HOW ARE YOU GENTLEMEN? ) BA: GM: Which harnesses? WillGM: 'Bout a foot long, 6 inches diameter, small weapons mounts. [ certain relevant /msg¹ing snipped] BA: Leather, band-steel? WillGM: Leather. BA: 'k WillGM: Ed's helping, apparently. BA: "Hey, Ed. Tell me again what these are for? Leatherworking's not exactly my greatest skill." [ certain relevant /msg¹ing snipped] Edward: "Weren't these for getting paid for?" BA: ??? Edward idly checks the straps of the harness he's working on. WillGM: The little Hispanic guy comes over and checks your work, along with your subordinate at the track -- what's his name? Walt, yeah. WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 10. BA: "What's up, Walt?" WillGM: "Good, good. Keep it up." WillGM: "Hey, boss. Got the modified triggers ready." He hands you some enlarged trigger mounts. BA: What kind of triggers? Spring-triggers? electrical? Weapon? BA: -" WillGM: Like you'd see on a revolver -- in fact, the rest of the revolvers are already mounted. BA: Ah. Gunsmithing stuff :) WillGM: Yeah. BA: "Good job." WillGM: The little Hispanic guy fiddles with some electrical equipment in the back of the shop. [ certain relevant /msg¹ing snipped] BA: *to LHG* "Don't mess around back there. What are you doing?" WillGM: "Oh, just getting ready for the show." [ certain relevant /msg¹ing snipped] BA nudges Ed* "Who is he, anyway? And how'd he manage to get into my shop?" Edward nods in apparent satisfaction and takes the finished harnesses over to another workbench where several small kites are already assembled. BA: . o O (And why am I letting him monkey with my tools and parts?) Edward: "If he's Who, probably by way of his phone box." BA: "Very funny, Brigadier." WillGM: The LHG turns on a lamp and turns it to face a camera. "Hey everyone -- and welcome back to 'Raul's Wild Kingdom'! Today, we're on Part II of our occasional series: Teaching Poodles How to Fly! Isn't that great?" He grins. "Today, we've been helped by my good friend Burgess and company, who have just completed the wonderful glider harnesses -- complete with semiautomatic weaponry! Let's give it a whirl!" WillGM: He goes over to a poodle -- there are several of them milling around, you see now. "Come here, Mimi!" [ certain relevant /msg¹ing snipped] BA: "Who let these animals in my shop?" BA activates Rumblestrip and chases the poodles outside with the taser Edward hands BA one of the harnesses. "Here ya go.² [ certain relevant /msg¹ing snipped] Edward hands it to Raul instead WillGM: Raul fits a poodle with a harness. "Look what he's doing to my poor poodles. Mimi -- ATTACK!" He throws Mimi into the air. WillGM: BA: there is a hang-gliding poodle coming at you, pointing two revolvers with trigger grips sized for paws without opposable thumbs. BA squawks and ducks BA HATES poodles! Edward fits another poodle with a harness. WillGM: Let's pause on the edge of this cliffhanger and rewind a few minutes. :^) WillGM: It is another scene entirely. Nicole, you are wandering the Penn campus. BA: gotta scram for the night WillGM: ... :^( BA: Sorry. WillGM: Okay. But be sure to read the log from this before you come back. It's the only way your scene just now will make sense. BA: 'k Later *** Signoff: BA (Quit: When we finally hit bottom, I KNOW there will be some idiot there to hand us shovels and tell us to start digging.) Nicole rolls around on footpaths, not having any particular destination in mind. WillGM: As you round the corner of one of the sidewalks, you see a conservatively-dressed woman walking toward you. She glances at you, and seems happy to see you. "Nicole! It *is* you. I'm glad I've found you." Nicole blinks. Nicole: "Do I know you?" WillGM: "I know, you haven't seen me wearing human guise. Our Lady insists that I maintain a human image when searching different worlds... one moment." She closes her eyes and concentrates. WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 10. WillGM: Her image shimmers, and she curls up into a ball, then continues coiling until she is the six-eyed serpent you recall from your last trip to the Marches, with the trasnlucent rinbow-colored feathers. "Eainéa." Nicole grins! "Elena's friend." WillGM: "And yours, I hope. That's one reason I came, actually." Nicole nods. Nicole: "What's up?" WillGM: "It's hard to find someone in the Marches when you don't know them well. I've been worried about you, so I've been searching for your dreamscape. I wanted to see how you were." Nicole: "I've been mostly fine. School gets in the way, and keeping up with everything..." WillGM: "In the way of what?" Nicole shrugs. "What I'd like to do, mostly." Nicole: "I'd like to spend more time working on my music, but...gotta fit it in between classes and stuff." WillGM: She grows intensely quiet and regards you for a moment, blinking each eye in rapid succession (up one side and down the other). "Ah." Nicole: "Not that I mind the classes, they're interesting, but..." Nicole grins. WillGM: She nods. "I remember the dream you were having when I first met you. There is beautiful music in you, never doubt it." Nicole nods some more. "Anyway, what's up?" WillGM: (She resonated that last statement about not minding classes; was it basically True or was Nicole trying to put a good face on it?) Nicole: mostly true. There's boring parts, but Nicole truly likes CS. Nicole: just not enough hours in the day, y'know? :) WillGM: Good then. WillGM: *nod* WillGM: "A secondary purpose for my arrival -- what is, at this point, 'up', as the slang goes -- would be a bit of education. Would you be interested in learning more about the Marches? You are involved in our great Conflict now, and this is a lively battlefield at times. Knowledge brings safety." Nicole sits back in her chair. "Wow. That's a lot to think about all of a sudden." Nicole thinks for a moment. WillGM: "You don't have to learn the physics of the Ethereal Plane in a night," she smiles. "How to get from point A to point B would be a reasonable first lesson." Nicole laughs. "Alright. That works." WillGM: She ruffles her feathers relaxedly. "Very well then. Where you are right now: this is your dreamscape. You will always be here when falling asleep..." she begins going through the basic stuff you'd find on human dreams in the IN book. Nicole: *nod* WillGM: Let us assume you go through a few tries and succeed in Lucidly Dreaming yourself into the Marches proper. Nicole nods. Nicole: I s'pose I'd remember the place, no? WillGM: place? You arrive in a 'generic' Marches location when your dreamscape collapses. Nicole: gotcha. WillGM: "This is the Vale -- we are well on my Lady's side of the middle regions." Nicole blinks again. Nicole: "Wow." WillGM: Eainéa readjusts her form back to that of the human woman. "My current Vessel," she says. "Being obvious is rarely a plus here." Nicole nods. Edward: isn't anyone actually walking through the vale rather than floating in a dreamscape fairly obvious? WillGM: Yeah, but "Seraph" is more obvious than "somebody wearing a human-looking icon." Edward: point WillGM: Nicole: This time, the Vale about you is populated by considerably more glowing bubbles than the last time you were here. Nicole looks around. "It's pretty, in some odd way." WillGM: "I think so, yes." The smile falters. "This side of the Vale, at least." She looks up at the nearer, brighter, Tower. Nicole nods. "I remember you showing me them." Nicole: "The towers, I mean." WillGM: She nods. "Which brings me back to my original point. Navigation. Many human Dreamers strike out for one Tower or another, since they are such vivid landmarks. The problem is, it is hard for them to get there, since they do not know quite what they are aiming for." Nicole nods. WillGM: "The Marches are a realm of thought. To be somewhere, here, is to be thinking a certain way. For example, I found you by thinking of what I knew of you -- and it took me a long time, since I did not know you well." Nicole smiles quietly, and nods again. "You did in the end, it's what counts, no?" WillGM: She bows slightly. "For you to practice navigation, you would need to think of some state you were familiar with. Perhaps a friend you have seen recently?" Nicole: "Well, there was the whole gang down at the Works, and then BA took me to his place...so BA's the last person I saw." WillGM: "Very well. Is it likely that he is asleep now? It has been, I would say, one or two hours of the world since we started." Nicole: "Well, given that it's nighttime in that part of the world, it's probably a safe bet." WillGM: "Excellent. Your first attempt at locating something other than a Tether or a Domain, then. Clear your mind and think about BA -- what he is like, what he was like when you last saw him. Focus on that. Then, as if it were a place, ste - proceed toward that." Nicole blinks a few times and then scrunches up her face in concentration, trying to remember what he looked like and what he said and all. WillGM: Eainéa whispers, "Forward..." Nicole frowns a bit more, and tries to start towards where she thinks he is... WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 10. WillGM doublechecks the Lucid Dreaming default... Nicole growls at herself. All the IN books are all over the floor, but G:IN's gone missing. WillGM: You start forward at a brisk walking pace, the dreamscapes parting about you and wisps of fog trailing away to each side. WillGM: CI142. Your default Lucid Dreaming skill is 13. [ snip game-relevant msg¹ing ] Nicole: ahhh. CI's sorta missing too, but I just found G:IN, so... Nicole continues keeping her concentration what she knows about BA. WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 9. WillGM: After what seems like about 10 minutes, Eainéa looks up and frowns. "I sense we are making progress..." WillGM: At this point, the dreamscapes clear up around you, and one appears in your path and does not fall to the side. Nicole blinks again. "Eh?" WillGM: As you walk, however, the fog begins to darken, looking more as if shot through with smoke. WillGM: Eainéa speaks quickly. "You are going to be learning more tonight than I had planned. We have found your friend, Nicole, but he is in the middle Marches and heading toward Beleth's side of the Vale!" Nicole: "Eek." Nicole: "I take it that's bad?" WillGM: "Most people survive their nightmares. But we are the guardians against them, and I will do my duty." Nicole nods. "Well...onwards and forwards?" WillGM: "Yes. I shall not abandon you here, but will be safer for you in the dreamscape than out here. Do as I do, and wish to be with BA." She strides forward, lays a hand on the bubble, and appears to be washed inside by a ripple. Nicole goes forward, concentrating hard on BA, and places her own hand on the bubble. WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 12. WillGM: You feel a slight suction, and find yourself in a version of BA's workshop. The poodles are somewhat out of place, you sense.... WillGM: ...and that's where we have to pause. :^) Nicole: only somewhat. :) Edward looks up from strapping another poodle into a glider/gun harness. "Heya, 'cole. Glad you could make it." Nicole: "Ummm...Hi, Ed." Edward idly leans aside to dodge a poodle swooping past after a screaming BA. WillGM: No, really. BA is, of course, an important character in his dreamscape. We need him to go forward with the scene. :^) WillGM: I feel like I'm good for maybe another hour -- Ed, you want to follow one of your threads? Edward: sure, which one? WillGM: Good question. Let's take five first, though. Nicole goes to put dinner in the oven. WillGM: b. WillGM: Y'all exist? Edward: yeah, but I could use a minute more to grab cola WillGM: Sure thing. Nicole: yessir. WillGM: Nicole: Well, mainly Ed. I imagine Nicole will be sleeping late tomorrow. :^) Edward: b WillGM: Ed: when you arrive back at work the next morning, there is a sealed envelope on your desk from Dave. Nicole: gee, i wonder why that is. Nicole: :) Edward snatches it up, opens it WillGM: "UMich formally reports no B.Sc. for any Laura Lieder. Reported ID number not on file as ever having been a student. Nail her. --Dave." Edward grins. WillGM: Below, there is a paper to that effect signed by the UMich admiissions office -- he must have had it overnighted. [ snip game-relevant msg¹ing ] Edward smirks and reaches for his phone. Edward dials campus security. WillGM: "University of Pennsylvania Campus Police. How may I serve?" Edward: Do I know this guy? WillGM: Student employees take turns at the phone. WillGM: So, no. WillGM: At such a University, Campus Police could easily number 500, I think -- bigger than many small town forces, since they essentially police a town of 40,000. Edward: "Hello, this is Edward Wong, campus networks. I've got a report here that we've got someone illicit on site and I'd like some help escorting her off the premises..." Edward checks Lieder's schedule on the servers while he's at it. WillGM: "Yes sir. Your ID Number?" Edward: "$idnumber" WillGM: Laura's schedule has her in Professor Harding's lab for the next several hours. WillGM: "Thank you, Mr. Wong. This is a trespasser?" Edward: "More like fraud, actually. She's been enlisted under false papers and hasn't paid a single bill." WillGM: "Ah. She's been expel... no, wait, she's not a student?" You hear papers flipping. Edward: "She enlisted here, but her entire file is bogus. I've got the paperwork from Admissions here." WillGM: "Okay. I got it. We'll send over an officer. Where are you calling from?" Edward: "Net-ops. I'm not expecting trouble from her, but she's apparently a clever enough con artist to keep talking the bursar's office into deferring payments, so send a guy or two that're hard to fool." WillGM: "Yes sir." WillGM: About five minutes later, a pair of uniformed Campus Police show up. WillGM: The kids in your outer office point them in to you. Edward nods at the gents. WillGM: "Sir." Edward: "Gentlemen. According to her schedule, 'Miss Lieder' should be at the biotech labs right now working with Prof. Harding. Shall we go?" WillGM: "Yes sir." WillGM: As you walk, one of them says, "Can you provide us with the details of the complaint, Mr. Wong?" Edward shows them Dave's note. "Essentially, during a routine check some anomalies were discovered in her files. Further investigation turned out that not only did she not pay a single bill since coming here, there is no record whatsoever of her ever having been at the college she claimed to have graduated from." WillGM: He reads the note, passes it to the other guy. "Gotcha. You got her admissions papers with you too?" Edward: "Her papers from here, you mean? Nope. I thought we'd swing by Admissions on the way down and have them pulled." WillGM: "Probably a good idea." Edward: WillGM: You arrive at the Admissions office. The police presence gets you prompt attention, and you are soon sitting across the dsk from a midlevel personage of some sort. Edward nods at the guy, explains the situation and shows the documented evidence. WillGM: He looks up the name, frowns, looks sonething else up, starts sweating, and looks up two things at once. Edward quirks Ye Sysadmin's Eyebrow. "Problem?" WillGM: "The one you came in with. Yes." Edward: "Do tell." WillGM: "Um... here." He prints out her basic admission form, pulls out a highlighter, highlights the line where she claims the UMich degree. "I, uh, regret to say that we don't have a transcript, except I guess that would be impossible if she didn't go, which is the point, except, uh, how'd she get in without the transcript..." Edward nods. "Frankly at this point *how* she managed to pull this off is, forgive the term, academic. We'll leave that for the investigators to figure out. Right now what's relevant is her getting *out*." WillGM: "We'll start the investigation process immediately. She'll be under suspension until the inquiry closes. Here." He thrusts the highlighted printout at you with the air of a man who is glad it isn't his problem. Edward nods and hands it to the seniormost officer. "Thank you." WillGM: The officers (as you suggested in msg) request a writ of administrative suspension, which the official fills out and gives to them. WillGM: You are now, the officers basically tell you, "armed." WillGM: (Btw, administrative suspension is for this kind of offense. Theoretically, if it was all a big mistake it wouldn't show up on her transcript.) Edward nods his thanks to the admissions guy and exits, officers in tow. Edward: WillGM: You arrive at Harding's lab. Laura is inside, laughing with a tall young man about something. WillGM: They both stop when you come in. Edward nods. "Miss Lieder?" WillGM: "That's me." WillGM: (The girl, of course.) WillGM: She's a stunningly gorgeous green-eyed blonde, and none too generous with the skirt material, either, though she makes up for it in cleavage. Both of these are -- almost -- hidden underneath a white lab coat, though. Edward: "I'm afraid there are some problems with your admissions record, and you've been put on administrative suspension until it can be sorted out. In the meantime, we have to ask you to leave the premises." WillGM: "Aw, crap." WillGM: "Shut up, Bill." WillGM: "What are you people doing here?" Edward: .oO("Bill"... Well, that clinches that one.) Edward shows professor Harding the relevant papers. WillGM: The latest incomer is a slightly balding, stocky man in glasses, coming out of an office in the back. WillGM: Laura quietly says something to the young man, who nods and leaves. Edward: "Ah, Professor. I'm Edward Wong, campus networks. We've found some problems with Miss Lieder's records, and I'm afraid she'll have to be removed from the premises while they're cleared up." WillGM: Professor Harding takes the papers. "UMich..." He looks at the other paper. "Hell of a records problem." WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 6. Edward nods. "Indeed." WillGM: Laura looks up at the Professor, and in a worried, slightly helpless tone of voice, asks, "What's going on, sir?" Edward doesn't quite interfere yet. The prof's probably innocent in all this and I'm not going to aggravate him by stepping on his authority when I don't have to. WillGM: The Professor shows Laura the paper from Dave. WillGM: "But... but... sir!" WillGM: "Well?" WillGM: "Of course I graduated! This... this must be some horrible prank! Someone is trying to get me in trouble." WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 11. Edward: "If so, they went through an awful lot of work to do so. Especially the part where they would have to have wiped your payment records as well..." *** Signoff: Wizard (Quit: On a warm sommers night, would you offer your neck to the wolf with red roses?) WillGM: The professor nods, and looks at you. "Now see here. Laura has been working in my lab for a semester now, and I'd be a poor judge of my trade if I didn't know that she knew her stuff. She obviously has lab experience working with virii and retrovirii. She's been doing solid work here." Edward: .oO(Viruses. Oh joy.) Edward: "I'm sure she has, sir, but I'm afraid that until this is cleared up there isn't much we can do about it." WillGM: "Well, why remove her from campus? We'll straighten this out through Admissions." WillGM: (angrily) "And somebody over there is going to *pay* for doing this to me." Edward shows Harding the signed writ from Admissions. Edward looks at Laura. "Someone will indeed. We take campus security violations *very* seriously, and if this is indeed some kind of prank then heads are going to roll." WillGM: An officer speaks up. "The administrative suspension is already in effect, sir. And I imagine Laura requires clearance to work in this lab." WillGM: Laura looks at you. "I know you'll find them. This is all just a terrible mistake, and you'll put it to rights." WillGM: 2 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (2 3d6) and gets 5 11. WillGM: Ow. WillGM: You are, in fact, sure that this is all a terrible mistake. WillGM: The officers, however, are insisting that Laura get her things and go. Edward: .oO(You bet your Damned ass it's a mistake to let you hang around here for one second longer, and I'm putting it to rights right now.) Edward smiles back at Laura. "Of course it is, and I'm sure it'll be cleared up in no time." WillGM: She looks at the both of the officers at once, hesitates a moment, and then growls a little. She daintily hops off the lab bench, stalks to the door, and... rather inappropriately for the situation... makes a small performance of removing her lab coat (while remaining petulantly angry about the whole thing). Edward walks with the officers escorting her out, and makes a mental note to call dave about bill ASAP. WillGM: The officers ask if she has a car, which she does, and they go to the parking lot and confiscate her parking permit after confirming that she lives off-campus. She has been less helpless-looking and more angry the longer you walk, and she shoots you, Ed, a glance of pure vitriol as she slams the door and commits a moving violation on her way out of the parking lot. [ snip clarification in msg ] Edward winces. "Thank you, officers." WillGM: "Our duty, sir. You let us know if she causes any more trouble." Edward nods. "I will." Edward thinks of something, then heads back to Harding's lab. WillGM: The officers head back to the station. [ snip game-relevant msg¹ing ] WillGM: Harding is there, shutting down the equipment Laura was working on and making notes in a lab notebook while grumbling about quitting halfway through an experiment. Edward knocks politely. WillGM: Harding comes up to the door. "Biohazard until I get this shut down. Whaddaya want?" A normal conversational tone makes it through the door. Edward: "I'm sorry to interrupt you twice on one day, sir, but I'd like to ask a few questions about all this. If you have a moment?" WillGM: "... Hang on a minute." He does stuff apparently necessary to allow someone to come in, and waves you into the back office. Edward: .oO(the fact that she tried to bamboozle him *probably* means he's innocent in all this, but what if that was part of keeping *his* Role up and he's really a demon? Argh, shut up and stop paranoiding, you idiot.) WillGM: He sits down behind his desk and motions for you to take a chair. "She's a good lab assistant, I'll have you know. Wears half'o'nothing, but she knows HIV." Edward lets himself be waved in and waits for the prof to sit down and be ready to talk. Nicole: Uh oh. Edward: .oO( .... H. I. V. Oh. *SHIT*) Edward almost but not quite manages not to wince as he sits down. "I'm sure she is, sir. It's what *else* she is that has us worried." WillGM: "Eh?" Edward: "You see, if this *is* some kind of prank someone went through an enormous amount of work to do so. There's *NO* evidence at all of her ever having been at Umich, and likewise no record of her ever having paid a single bill at this university." Edward: "So either someone broke into *multiple* university computer systems AND vanished all relevant paper records without leaving a single trace, or...." He doesn't finish the sentence. WillGM: "Ah." He frowns for a moment. "To be honest, I think a prank is a little farfetched." He smiles ruefully. "I was believing it was for a minute there... guess a pretty girl can turn my old head real easy these days." WillGM: "But it would be dang hard to do what she does without knowing a lot of stuff. She must have picked it up somewhere." WillGM OOCly tries to recall... had the anthrax mailings started in Oct of 2001? Nicole: Ummm, yeah. Edward: I think so, yes. And at least terrorism is on the forefront of a LOT of minds at this point. Edward nods. "Except that that makes it even MORE worrying..." Nicole: It's always *INTERESTING* getting mail in this here United States these days. Nicole: (BTW, said letter is postmarked October 18th, 2001) WillGM: "Jesus Herbert Walker Christ. You don't think she's with that anthrax lunatic, do you?" Nicole: yeah, that's a letter we got from one of the contaminated facilities, it showed up in a bag. Edward: And as a player I'd like to strangle myself for playing this card this way, but whatever works. Edward shakes his head. "I don't know. It's farfetched, but the fact is that I don't really want to think of what someone wants with HIV research that apparently can't be done legally..." Nicole: I might point out the date on that LJ post is 12/22/01 ;) Edward: "That reminds me, who was that gentleman she was talking with when we came in? A Bill Something?" WillGM: "Hell, son, we're trying to *cure* it. ... Oh, Bill? Senior, I think. Boyfriend. They sure as hell are sleeping together, and not shy about talking about it, either." Edward: besides, if she's a Technology servitor then Anthrax mailings are the least of our worries. Nicole: ...uhoh. Nicole: Ed: biotech? WillGM: "He's a biochem major. I think he's interested in retrovirii too." Edward nods. "I'm not much of a biologies person, but in my experience, knowing how to fix a problem usually involves knowing how to cause them as well..." Edward shrugs. "Anyways, that's more or less out of my hands at this point -- I got involved in this because I spotted the records anomalies in the first place and my supervisor told me to handle the matter personally." WillGM: He nods. "HIV is damned hard to culture, though. And doesn't spread through your typical biological-agent vectors. And doesn't cripple you for years. It *scares* people, but it doesn't *spread*. Still, I'll doublecheck our stocks. We're required to keep track every day, but another time never hurts." Edward: "Campus security and Admissions will probably take it from here... But could you do me a favor and let me know as well if you think of anything that might be relevant? I know it's not really any of my business, but..." *helpless smile of those too curious for their own good* Edward: "That sounds like a good idea. In the meantime, I'd better report to Dave and let him know it's been handled." WillGM: "Right. When the investigation does go forward, as her supervising professor and the lab authority I can check her lab notebooks. She may have kept a separate set, but probably not. They're a surprising amount of work to duplicate." Edward nods and gets up. "Again, sorry for all the commotion." He extends his hand. WillGM: He sighs and stands, shaking your hand. "I'll tell you. With this taint on her, even if the investigation clears her completely... I don't imagine she'll be let back in. It sucks, but that's the world." Edward shrugs. "It's just an administrative suspension at this point. If she's clear, this incident won't even show on her record." WillGM: "Right. Keep me posted." Edward: "Will do. Good day, Professor." Edward aboutfaces and exits. Edward heads back to his office and calls Dave on his cellphone while in the elevator. WillGM: "Network Administrator." Edward: "Dave, Ed. I'm just headed back in from Harding's labs." WillGM: "Result?" Edward: "Miss Lieder has been shown the door and Admissions is probably about finished the first round of screaming at who screwed up letting her in in the first place." WillGM: "Good. We'll let them handle it from here. You just keep the paper records ready in case you're called upon. Speaking of which -- did you know that this Betty Smith got herself a lawyer for the investigation on her end? Some hotshot dude that does pro bono work and likes academic cases, I hear." Edward: "That's good to hear. " *exits the elevator, turns the corner and walks into the office, shutting down his cellphone as he sits down in the chair in front of Dave's desk.* "But there may be a loose end or two yet. I'm gonna run a check or two on her boyfriend's records just to make sure... And I really don't want to know what a con artist with a background in biochem and retroviruses wants to do with HIV research." WillGM: You can practically hear the currently-popular scare click over in Dave's mind. WillGM: "... Keep an eye on those Admissions hearings, okay?" Edward: "I know I'm probably being paranoid, but I don't exactly feel like taking chances with this one." Edward nods. WillGM: "Okay. Good work then." Edward nods and gets back to his own office to call up the records of said Bill, who is a senior and an undergrad biochem and works with Harding... Is this indeed Handel? WillGM: There are no undergrads on Harding's lab staff. WillGM: There is one Bill who is a senior biochem major, and he is Handel. Edward: .oO(Gotcha) WillGM: Let's continue this line of investigation next game... I'm still somewhat awake, but I know I need to keep the sleep schedule on track. Edward calls up the details from that analysis overview to see what anomalies it found and makes a mental note to call the 'works again soon to let them know. But that's something for next sesh. WillGM: --------------------- Session End ----------------------